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The entry of Peshmerga fighters from Iraq to battle the Islamic State (IS) militant group in Syria 's predominantly Kurdish city of Ayn al-Arab aims at guaranteeing the interests of Turkey in that Kurdish region, analysts say.
Mahmoud Muri, secretary general of the oppositional National Democratic Body, told Xinhua in an interview Thursday that Turkey' s move to allow the Peshmerga to enter Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobane, is part of a Turkey-U.S. agreement to have the Kurds battle against the IS in northern Syria while maintaining a sort of guarantee to Turkey that there would be no Kurdish threats to Ankara's interests in a later phase.
He explained that Turkey doesn't want the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey deems as a terrorist organization, to fight in Ayn al-Arab out of fear that they would join force with the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), both are on the same page with the PKK.
"Turkey fears the expansion of the PKK and the PYD in that region near its borders with Syria and thus it wants the Peshmerga, which is led by Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq, to lead the Kurdish groups in Ayn al- Arab," he said.
Muri said a strong presence of anti-Turkey Kurdish militants in Ayn al-Arab poses a threat to the Turkish interests because the Kurds may want to establish a federation in a latter phase and Turkey fears the Kurds' desire to establish their long-desired federation near its borders in southern Turkey "because southern Turkey is also predominantly Kurdish."
He also said that Turkey also allowed, or even demanded the entry of Syrian rebels into Ayn al-Arab to fight alongside the Peshemerga and other Syrian Kurds, another sign of its desire to further secure its interests.
Muri, however, said that allowing the Peshmerga to enter Ayn al- Arab would not stop or end the threats of the IS in that part of Syria near the Turkish borders that fast, adding that Turkey's plan is to have a long battle in that region, which could pave the way for Syrian opposition fighters, who are recently getting training in some opposition-friendly Arab countries, to enter that part of Syria in the future.
"The American plan to fight the IS in the region could drag on for a long time," he remarked.
"So there is a Turkish-Kurdish-American agreement on these steps. There are steps that will be clearer in the next phase of the American plan in the region." He said Ankara wants the Barazani forces to be leading the current phase in Ayn al-Arab.
Meanwhile, Anas Jodeh, deputy head of the oppositional Building Syria State party, told Xinhua that the entry of Peshmerga into Ayn al-Arab enjoys an international consensus as the forces represent Iraq's Kurdistan, which is technically a country internationally recognized.
He said the Turks want to take advantage of the differences between the various Kurdish fighters and empowers the Peshmerga over other Syrian Kurds.
"Certainly their aim is to exclude the PKK from the political landscape in Ayn al-Arab and empower the Peshmerga to be the one supervising and grounding the Syrian Kurdish militants in northern Syria," he said.
For his part, Maher Murhej, the head of the Syrian Youth Party, appeared to have another explanation, saying that the current developments in Ayn al-Arab could be part of an agreement between the Kurds, Turkey and the U.S., which could involve a plan for the establishment of a Kurdish federation in the future that could include Ayn al-Arab but excludes predominantly Kurdish areas in southern Turkey.
The presence of the Peshmerga and Turkey-loyal Syrian rebels in Ayn al-Arab is the guarantee for Turkey that the deal it cut with the Kurds is moving on as planned, he said.
On Wednesday, about 50 Syrian rebels crossed the Turkish borders to Ayn al-Arab, and Peshmerga forces arrived in Turkey and were due to cross to the Syrian Kurdish city to join the battle against the IS.
More Syrian fighters are also said to have been poised to join the battle as demanded by Turkey, reports said.
